Downtown Belleville gets into festive spirit

A look at the lit up 30-foot blue spruce Christmas tree in front of Century Place in downtown Belleville. (Photo: Brock Ormond/Quinte News)

The magic and festiveness of the Christmas season – as well as a showcase of the newly upgraded downtown – was celebrated in wintery Belleville Thursday evening.

The second annual ‘Christmas in the Village – Where Magic Happens’ event kicked off, featuring the lighting of a 30-foot blue spruce Christmas tree in front of Century Place, horse-drawn trolley rides, live reindeer for people young and old, and a window and tree decorating contest among others.

A Cappella Quinte, a men’s barbershop chorus serving the Quinte region, started the event by singing Christmas carols to the large crowd and downtown businesses also participated by offering food and hot drinks to the patrons.

Dwane Barrett of the Downtown BDIA expressed gratitude for the downtown merchants’ contributions to the event, including the tree, which was saved from a local building project.

A marching band plays for the crowd at the downtown Christmas celebration Thursday evening. (Photo: Brock Ormond/Quinte News)

Downtown businesses have decorated small Christmas trees outside their doors for a contest that will be held until mid-December. (Photo: Brock Ormond/Quinte News)

One hundred new 48” LED snowflakes have been mounted on lamp posts in downtown Belleville. These snowflakes have replaced the twenty-year-old decorations), according to the BDIA. (Photo: Brock Ormond/Quinte News)

Horses from the County Carriage Co. get set to give rides to people in the downtown Christmas celebration event Thursday evening. (Photo: Brock Ormond/Quinte News)